Pages

MODEST MAMA

Follow our family as we journey through life.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Survival #2: Laundry

Ha, ha. It's funny to think that how you handle your laundry can improve your homeschool. But it can. Not everyone is going to benefit from this little post, but I know that those who do benefit from it will be forever changed for the better.

I had three boys in three years. These boys are very similar in size. So much so that sometimes folks ask if they are triplets. Yeah, ridiculous, but it happens just the same.

These boys wear a lot of clothes and a lot of those clothes are the same size. Folks have suggested that I let them all share clothes. We already do that for socks. We have one big bin by the front door. Even Margaret and Malcolm get their socks from the bin. But my boys really enjoy having their own clothes. And I don't want to deny them that.

Problem is, it's hard for me to fold and sort their laundry. It's all basically the same size and I honestly can't remember which green-striped shirt goes to which boy. I could have them do this chore, but I really want it done this century. And laundry is my thing.

So I devised this little system for their clothes. Each article of clothing is marked on the inside tag with one dot for James, two dots for Isaac, and three dots for Henry. I use sharpies for the dots. That way, if James gives outgrown pants to Henry I can easily add a couple dots to the system. And it's easy to remember which dot for which boy because I do it by birth order.

With this little laundry stress out of the way I can focus more of my energy and time on educating these beasts children.

A laundry bonus tip: A wiser mom with more kids told me that she has a designated laundry day. It is the same day every week and she makes sure she stays home until all the laundry is washed, folded, and put away. If something needs to be washed on her "non-laundry" day, then it is up to the wearer to get it washed. Although this wouldn't work at my house right now, she claims it has solved her laundry issues.

What are other bloggers writing about this week? Click the banner below to find out!

No comments:

About our family

We are a cloth diapering, God loving, homeschooling family of seven trying to figure out what the heck is going on.
Dr. Smarty Pants and Seamstress Extraordinary were married in 2001 and have five mini-Smarty Pants Extraordinaries running amuck in the foothills of Western Pennsylvania.